


My Broken Hero

by TinyButFierce



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - Ursula K. Le Guin, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Not Team-Cap friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-09 04:56:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12269337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyButFierce/pseuds/TinyButFierce
Summary: His is not an innocent smile.





	My Broken Hero

**Author's Note:**

> The narrative style is based off of Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" which is an incredible short story if you haven't read it. 
> 
> Not very team cap friendly, you were warned.

The news helicopters flew over the destruction of what was once a busy airport. The ground was littered with debris that were forcefully launched by those who some would call heroes. Beyond the airport in a valley of green that appears more gray under the circumstances, a single crater the size of a man rests in the ground.

I describe a familiar scene. Perhaps you have seen it for yourself. Perhaps the ones who fled were your own heroes, but you have not looked closer at the natures of those you hold up as examples. 

It is not real, this universe that I describe. It is not real and yet we allow it to take over parts of our own. Were the reasons behind their actions really what we think? Are the justifications you tell for those heroes really something that could be defended in own world? The ones you hold high, they sit in a cage. The cage sits in the middle of a rolling ocean with the darkness permeating an area that could have sun. The sun never seems to rise because of the bleakness that devours the sentiment of the place. Your heroes sit in their cage until a man, one of the heroes who fled and let one who was once a friend fall, walks up with a smile on his face. 

His is not an innocent smile. 

His smile rests on the suffering of others under the name of justice. Perched under the name of friendship and what was right. That is what he believed, but that is not what his smile was from. You think you know of whom I speak? Good. The one who needs to be spoken of is the one who hurt the one who needed help. Under the name of justice, the one who needed help was belittled. Under the name of friendship the man who needed help was hung against the wall by his throat. Under the name of what was right the man who needed help was ignored, attacked, and left alone. 

Most of the people who live in this universe know his name. No. Not most. All. They see his name glitter in the sky and believe that he is untouchable. They see him in an interview and wish that they could be as poised as him. He smiles for the camera. Behind his smile is pain. His eyes lie to the camera. 

The snow falls gently around an immobile metal man. He lies propped up against a concrete structure in the middle of a cold wasteland. Blood leaks from his face as he looks towards the sky. There is no lie in his eyes or pain behind his smile. He is not smiling, and all his eyes show is pain. “He’s my friend,” “So was I,” echoes through his head as he thinks of the hero that left him bleeding on the ground. The hero that had called for justice yet ushered away those who wanted to truly help the people. The man on the ground should be perceived as the real hero, for he wanted what the people wanted did he not? Why do you then prefer the other hero? Why do you defend those who appear perfect yet only care for themselves? 

I prefer the broken hero. 

My broken hero continues to lie on the frozen floor encased in what was once his freedom but now traps him in place. The gash in his artificial heart mocks him with the legacy of the supposed hero. Across the world, his best friend wakes up from a coma, paralyzed forever. Across the world an artificial person searches for their broken boss. Across the world a young boy looks towards a picture of the broken figure and wishes to speak to his hero again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks you reading!  
> Let me know what you think. Did I get the style right?  
> Kudos and comments keep me writing. :)


End file.
